russia kept their close ties to syria. the one military base they have outside the former soviet union they have in syria. the russians and the syrians are very close. they're very close to syria's dictator, bashar al assad. they were very close with al assad's dad. they've done billions of dollars' worth of trade deals, as i've said, in weapons alone. and in this year and a half-long civil war in syria that has cost tens of thousands of lives, syria's only friends in the world have been naturally iran and china but also their best friends, russia. russia. and that was true until today. russia today did not formally declare that they're no longer going to support the syrian government against the rebels, but for the first time a high-ranking russian official said publicly that yeah, it looks like assad is going to lose this war. i mean, the united states has been saying that forever. nato has been saying that forever. everybody who wants assad to go has been saying that forever. you try to create an air of inevitability ab